After sixteen years’ stalemate, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the Federal Government have finally sealed a renegotiated agreement aimed at reviving the nation’s ailing university system.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Abuja, ASUU national President, Prof Chris Piwuna, hailed the breakthrough, noting that the 2025 Renegotiated Agreement, brings to a close a protracted process that began in 2017 to review the 2009 FGN–ASUU pact, which itself was due for renegotiation in 2012.
Piwuna said the long delay was largely due to what it described as the government’s “poverty of sincerity” in previous engagements.
Several renegotiation committees inaugurated between 2017 and 2022—led at different times by Wale Babalakin, Munzali Jibrin and Nimi Briggs—failed to produce a collective bargaining agreement.
The ASUU president noted that the breakthrough came after the current administration inaugurated a new committee in October 2024, chaired by former Head of Service of the Federation, Mallam Yayale Ahmed. An agreement was reached about 14 months later.
He commended Ahmed’s perseverance, describing him as a patriot who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, often at great personal cost, to see the negotiations through.
ASUU also praised President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Moruf Alausa, Minister of State Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, and officials of the National Universities Commission (NUC) for their roles in concluding the talks.
The agreement addresses conditions of service, university funding, autonomy, academic freedom and systemic reforms aimed at reversing decay, curbing brain drain and repositioning universities for national development.
A major highlight is the commitment to research funding, including plans to forward a National Research Council (NRC) Bill to the National Assembly, proposing at least one per cent of GDP for research, innovation and development.
However, ASUU warned that serious challenges persist. The union decried continued government encroachment on university autonomy, arbitrary dissolution of governing councils, political interference in the appointment of vice-chancellors and the growing use of acting VCs, which it said erode meritocracy and fuel instability.
Ten matters addressed by the agreement as explained by ASUU are:
1. Salary review- the agreement provides for an upward review of lecturers’ salaries by about 40 per cent, alongside improved conditions of service.
2. Annual allowances- under the new structure, professors are entitled to an annual allowance of N1.74 million, while Readers on CONUASS 07 and 06 will receive N840,000 per year.
3. Earned Academic Allowances, EAA – University academic staff are eligible for Earned Academic Allowances. The agreement specifies nine types, including postgraduate supervision allowance; teaching practice, industrial supervision and field trip allowance; honoraria for postgraduate oral examinations; honoraria for external moderation; and external assessment allowances for Readers and Professors.
Other allowances include postgraduate study grants, call duty/clinical duty/clinical hazard allowance and responsibility allowance.
4. Retirement and pension- The retirement age for the professorial cadre is fixed at 70 years. Retired professors in recognised public universities will now receive pensions calculated at 100 per cent of their annual salary.
5. Maternity and paternity leave- Female academic staff are granted six months of maternity leave, while male academic staff are entitled to two weeks of paternity leave.
6. University staff schools- As stipulated in the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, the Federal Government will continue to bear the full capital and recurrent costs of university staff primary schools, as well as the capital costs of university secondary schools.
7. Other conditions of service – Additional non-salary benefits include group life insurance, research leave, sabbatical leave, annual leave, sick leave and deferred leave or compensation for denial.
The agreement also provides for injury pensions and the provision of office accommodation and facilities to be managed by individual university governing councils.
8. Stabilisation and Restoration Fund- The Federal Government will provide N30 billion for the stabilisation and restoration of universities. Tagged the Stabilisation and Restoration Fund, the money will be disbursed in three equal instalments of N10 billion annually from 2026 to 2028.
9. National Research Council Bill- A National Research Council Bill will be forwarded to the National Assembly. The proposed legislation will provide for funding of research, innovation and development through at least one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
10. Review of restrictive laws- The agreement provides for the review and amendment of five laws considered to impede university autonomy and academic freedom. This process will be initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with ASUU and other stakeholders:
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Act; National Universities Commission, NUC, Act; Education, National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions, Act; Universities Miscellaneous Provisions Act; and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, Act.
ASUU also raised concerns about financial mismanagement, the “consultancy syndrome” in universities, compromised governing councils, and declining academic standards, particularly in newly upgraded universities of education where it alleged improper conversion of chief lecturers to professors.
